Check-sorting rack



April 3, 1928.

' 1,664,650 W. VAN KORLAAR CHECK SORTING RACK Filed July 29. '1925 2Sheets-Sheet l Van Kcar'Laar:

April 3, 1928. i y 1,664,650

I w. VAN KGRLAAR CHECK SORTING BACK Filed 29. 1925 zsmmsnm 2 PatentedApr. 3, 1928.

UNITED STATES WYNANID VAN KORLAAR, or GRAND RArIns, MICHIGAN.

CHEG'K-S OBIING RACK.

Application filed July 29; 1925. Serial No. 46,921.

The present invention relates to sorting racks, and has for an object toprovide a device by means of which checks bills, or other individualsheets may be properly and temporarily sorted out into separate groups,

. alphabetically or otherwise, and held from being blown about ordislodged during the sorting operation. I

Another object of the invention is to provide a sorting rack which hasyieldable devices tor lightly holding clusters of sheets together sothat the clusters may be added to from time to time during the sortingof a large number of the sheets andso that when the person using thedevice is temporarily called away from the work, the sorted sheets willbe held from displacement and in proper order without the exercise ofdue care or the like usually required in sorting oi this character. I

Another object of the invention is to provide a sorting device which isadjustable so as to accommodate the device to large or small stacks ofsheets and to admit of the arrangement of the holding devices so thatstacks of difierent sizes may be accommodated and wherein the adjustmentmay be made during the. use of the device so that the sheets alreadyplaced between the holding devices need not beremoved and will be heldin place during the adjustment.

A further object ofth'e invention is to provide alcompact andeconomically manufactured article capable of'b'ein'g mailed by parcelpost andwhich may be quickly and easily set up and adjusted without theeXer-' ci'se of any special skill and which cannot be readily put out oforder by rough h'an dling or the like. I

The invention further .aims to provide a sorting rack which is adaptedfor various uses, such as in banks to sort checks, in mail order houses,in general offices, for time keepers and for various other uses whereverlarge n-umbersof sheets are to be separated out from large stacks or'piles.

The invention further aims to provide 'a device of this character whichmay be constructed of various materials, and a device which admits of acertain'amount of ornamentation and which is of pl'easii'ig'design foruse about offices banks and the like without detracting from the generalappearance of the furniture and fixtures.

The above and various other objects and advantages of this inventionwill in part be described in and in part be understood from thefollowing detailed description of the present preferred embodiment, thesame being illustrated in the accompanying drawingswherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one end of the device constructeda'ccording to the pres ent invention. I

Fig. 2 is a transverse section taken'thr'oug'h the same, showing a checkin position in the device.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary edge view of. the device showing one of thepartitions and it's pressure elements.

Fig. el is an enlarged vertical section tak ei'r through the same, and

Fig. 5 is a: fragmentary perspective View of one or" the pressureelementsshown-in relation to its spring and supporting rod.

Referring to the drawings 10 designates a 7 base board ofwo'od or thelike ofany suitable configuration 'which is of suflicient length toaccommodate the desired number of compartments" and which is of a widthpreferably greater than that of the-compartments for supporting the endsof sheetsand facilitating the grasping of the same;

At its forward end, the base 10 is provided with an end member 11 whichispreferably constructed of sheet metal I overturned intermediate itsends and provided at the latter with outturned flanges 12 and 13adaptedto seat upon the top of the base 10 and which are secured theretoby screws 14 01 the like. The'memher' 11 is looped up wardly from thebase and preferably has its lower ends flared or'div'erg'ing toreinforce and stifien the upright inen ber 11. v

The base 10 is provided, rearwardly ofthe' member 11," with a pair ofgrooves or recesses 15 extending in parallelism [in th'e'upper face ofthe base 10 and spaced inwardly from the longitudinal edges of the same.A guide and supporting plate 16- is secured to the upper face of thebase 10 by screws of the recesses to provide spaces between the same andthe plate 16,

Slidably mounted on the guide plate 16 is a number of partitions 19.Each partition includes an upstanding plate 19 having a forwardly bentflange 20 at its lower edge adapted to extend across the guide plate 16and which has its opposite ends returned beneath the flange 20 toprovide shoes 21 slidable in the recesses and against the underside ofthe guide plate, the shoes 21 extending about the longitudinal edges ofthe guide plate 16 and through the openings or spaces between the sameand the outer walls of the recesses 15.

The flanges 20 and the shoes 21 are of sufficientwidth to support theplate 19 in upright position above the base 10, and each flange 20 isprovided near each end with a binding screw 22 provided with a knurledhead by means of which the screw may be manually turned through theflange 20 to bind against the guide plate and secure the plat-e 19rigidly to the guide plate 16., The flanges 20 are preferably providedwith bosses 23 or the like for receiving the binding screws 22 andaffording a firm support for the same.

The upper end of each plate 19 is bent forwardly to provide a top flange2 and the latter has at opposite ends a pair of depending apertured ears25 for supporting a rod 26 beneath the top flange 24. The top flange 24:may be provided at its forward edge with an upturned tongue 27 with itsfree portion bent backwardly and spaced from the tongue to provide aback wall 28 forming a casing for an index card 29 or the like whichbears suitable indicia such as a letter of the alphabet. The front wallof the tongue 27 is slotted to provide a window or opening 30 throughwhich the indicia is exposed. his tongue 27 provides a tab for thepartition 19 and may be arranged in any other suitable manner foridentifying the compartments or spaces between the partitions.

Each plate 19 carries a presser member 31 which may be in the form of asheet of metal provided at its upper edge with spaced cars 32 rolledover to form hinge eyes adapted to engage the rod 26 and to provide arecess or space 33 to accommodate the adjacent side of a coil spring 34mounted upon the intermediate portion of the rod 26. One end 35 of thespring bears against the front face of the plate 19 while the other end36 of the spring bears against the rear side of the presser member 31.The presser member 31 is preferably reinforced or stiffened by aplurality of substantially vertical ribs orbeads 37 pressed forwardly oroutwardly from the sheet of metal and which also provides gripping meansfor sheets 38 which may be placed against the presser member. These ribs37 also form guides against which the sheets may he slid downwardly.

structure. The lower end of the presser member 31 is curved rearwardlyor inwardly as shown at 39 to prevent the catching of the presser member31 against the sheets while the latter are drawn away from the pressermember after the sorting operation.

The presser members 31ers of sufficient length to extend downwardly intoclosely spaced relation above the flanges 20 when the presser membersare forced backwardly toward the partitions 19. This length of thepresser members admits of the bearing of the curved ends 39 thereofagainst the rear sides of the nextadjacent partitions 19 so that when arow of the partitions 19 is mounted upon the base 10, the pressermembers of the partitions consecutively engage the rear sides of thepreceding partitions throughout the series and form compartments eachhaving a yieldingly movable wall capable of being retracted toaccommodate increasing numbers of sheets as the latter are slipped intotheir respective compartments.

The aartitions 19 are consecutivel threaded upon the guide plate 16 intheir proper order or sequence according to the index used, and this isaccomplished by inserting the shoes 21 downwardly through the openings18 at the forward ends of the recesses 15. The partitions 19 may be slidalong the guide plate 16 toward and from each other to providecompartments of the required size.

In use, a number of sheets such as checks,

as shown in Fig. 2, are, sorted by taking the same individually andslipping them one at a time in an edgewise direction downwardly into therespective compartment and against the ribs 37 of the presser member 31.As the stack of sheets increases in the compartments, the pressermembers 31 are forced backwardly to accommodate thesheets, and thesprings 34 are of sufficient tensiononly to lightly hold the sheetstogether in separate stacks so that draughts of air-and the like cannotdisperse the sheets ormix the same after and during the sortingoperation. 2

The, partitions and other upstanding parts of the device are preferablyso proportioned with respect to the sheets to be sorted that the latterproject beyond the edges of the partitions so that the sorted stacks maybe easily grasped and thus distributed or otherwise disposed ofaccording to its partlcular classification. 1

It is of course understood that various changes and modifications may bemade in the details of construction and design of the above specificallydescribed embodiment'of this invention, suchchanges and modificationsbeing restricted only by the scope of the following claims.

,l/Vhat is claimed is:

1. A sorting rack comprising a base, guide means on the base, an endmember secured to said base, and movable partitions carried by saidguide means, said movable partitions comprising a base adapted tooverlap the outer edges of said guide means, means for engagement withsaid guide means for bold jing said partition base on said guide meansin a predetermined position, an upstanding plate carried by saidpartition base, a hinged presser member mounted on said upstandingplate, spring means for urging said hinged presser member outwardly andagainst the adjacent partition, and indicating means mounted on saidpartition.

2. A sorting rack comprising a base, guide means on the base, said basehaving parallel grooves at opposite sides thereof, an end member mountedon said base, and movable partitions carried by said guide means, saidmovable partitions comprising a base adapted to overlap the outer edgesof said guide means, said overlapping portions of the base being adaptedto loosely slide in said grooves, means on said partition base forholding the same on said guide means in a predetermined position, anupstanding plate carried by said partition base, a movable pressermember hingedly secured to said upstanding plate and extendingclownwardly from the upper end thereof, spring means for urging saidpresser member against the adjacent upstanding plate of anotherpartition, and indicating means on said partition.

3. In a sorting rack, the combination of a base, guide means mounted onsaid base, and a plurality of partitions, each comprising an imperforateupright plate a ainst which articles sorted may rest, a horizontalflange at the lower end of said upright plate, slidably mounted on saidguide means, and a presser plate yieldably mounted on said uprightmember and extending downwardly there-from toward the imperforateupright plate of the next adjacent partition, to urge the sortedarticles toward the latter.

4. In a sorting rack, the combination of a base, guide means mounted onsaid base, and a plurality of partitions slidably carried by said guidemeans, each partition comprising an upright plate against which articlessorted may rest, and a presser member yieldably carried by the upperportion of said upright plate, and extending downwardly toward theupright plate of the next adjacent partition, said pressermemberprovided with a plurality of substantially vertical ribs confronting thesaid upright plate of the next adjacent partition.

WVYNAND VAN KORLAAR.

